Page 54 of Marked By the Alphas

“Are you kidding?” I asked, but he only wiggled his brows playfully at me while dangling his phone in front of my face.

“I’ll never tell,” he drawled, and I launched toward him, determined to snatch his phone out of his hand, but he moved out of my way just in time, wrapping his arms around me instead and pulling me into him so he could bury his face in my neck.

“You smell so freaking good, baby. It’s driving my wolf crazy,” he commented, and I raised a brow in question.

Over the last couple of days, Kai, Rhys, and Rowan had begun making comments on my scent and how good it was. At first, it had been pretty normal, since I was used to commenting on how good I smelled, but it had become increasingly frequent and intense. I couldn’t quite understand the sudden escalation.

“Thank you,” I said but he only continued to take huge sniffs of my neck.

I pried myself out of his arms, but he immediately pulled me into them again. “Are you sure you’re doing okay, baby? You look like you need some more sleep,” Kai said, and I raised my eyes to look into his. There was a frown marring his features as he watched my face.

“I’m okay. I have to get through my training with Rowan,” I said, finally pulling myself free from his hands.

But just like I expected, he followed me as I moved out of the bed and into the bathroom.

“Kai, why are you following me around? Don’t you have to go to work?” I said playfully when he just stood at the entrance to the bathroom.

“This is actually more fun, so yeah, I think I’ll do this instead,” he responded, and I shook my head, laughing at his words.

“I’m taking the morning off. I don’t have any meetings until noon and I wanted us to spend the morning together. Rowan says you’ve been doing so well with your training and I'd like to see it. I might teach you a few of my tricks too. They don’t call me the best warrior of the pack for nothing,” he bragged lightheartedly, and I laughed, but before I could respond, his phone began ringing and he moved back into the room, closing the bathroom door behind him.

Once I finished with my business, I flushed the toilet and moved to the sink over the counter so I could wash my hands and brush my teeth. My eyes turned amber for a split second as I stared at my reflection in the mirror, and I smiled. My wolf hadn’t spoken to me again since the two times, but in little moments like this,she reminded me that she was still here. I was grateful for it, because the last couple of days since Naya had woken up had been stressful.

I had told Kai, Rhys, and Rowan about Naya’s escape, and they had assured me that she would be safe here. My best friend had been settling in just fine, which I felt relieved for. This one good thing came after several other bad things.

My nightmares had gotten worse, to the extent that Kai had decided that all four of us should move into one room so that I didn’t always have to wake up alone and so that their presence could be comforting for me. While I appreciated the decision, it didn’t seem to be doing much to stop my nightmares.

Naya had begun recovering too, and I had offered to show her around the pack. We had even made some shopping runs, along with accompanying Rose to the market. Everyone in the pack was always nice and friendly, and nothing ever seemed to be out of place. I still could never shake off the feeling of being watched and followed.

There was always an unsettling energy that seemed to be following me everywhere that I went, and it never failed to spike my anxiety and leave me feeling nervous and stressed. It didn’t help that I couldn’t talk to any of my men about this because it was all just feelings, and there was no evidence that I was actually being followed or watched. Keeping it all to myself was slowly starting to drive me crazy.

It also didn’t help that I felt easily tired and exhausted, and I just wanted to get off my feet and lay down as often as possible. Dark circles even underscored my eyes, and a sense of weariness seemed to cling to me all the time.

I shook my head slowly to rid it of all the thoughts plaguing me, deciding to focus instead on getting through the morning and my training sessions with Kai and Rowan. I loved the training sessions. They served as a great distraction and it made me feel safer when I had to be by myself.

Once I was done brushing my teeth and taking a bath, I moved back into the room to find it empty, although Kai had laid out some clothes for me. I loved how they did these little things for me—it made me feel cared for.

As I stepped out of the room, I collided with Rowan in the hallway. His warm smile faltered momentarily as he took in my tired eyes. Concern immediately etched itself onto his features. “Are you all right, baby?” he asked gently.

I managed a reassuring smile. “I’m fine. Just a little tired,” I replied, my voice softer than intended.

Rowan’s gaze lingered on my face, almost as if he were searching for any sign of distress. “Are you sure you’re up for training today?” he questioned, his voice laced with doubt.

Determined to push through my fatigue, I nodded firmly. “Of course, I am. After all, I can rest some more after the training,” I assured. He looked like he was about to say something else, but I simply took his hand and tugged him in the direction of the stairs.

“There’s my favorite girl,” Rhys called as I stepped into the training field with Rowan and I immediately moved toward him, giggling when he scooped me into his arms and twirled me. He peppered kisses all over my face and neck and I was sure that my shouts of delight could be heard from a mile away.

“You smell so good, honey, and you look so pretty,” Rhys complimented as he put me on my feet and I blushed, standing on the tips of my toes so I could plant a kiss on his lips.

“Thank you. How come all of you are here?” I asked, accepting the hand that Rhys offered so he could lead me to the edge of the training field where Kai was sitting.

“This grandpa and I wanted to watch you train. Rowan said you’ve been doing so well and I wanted to see for myself,” Rhys said, but unfortunately for him, Kai heard him refer to him as a grandpa, and he threw the bottle of water that he had been nursing straight at Rhys.

“Kai! That could have hit him in the face!” I scolded when Rhys ducked out of the way just in time. Kai smirked in satisfaction.

“That was the aim. Next time, he might not be so lucky,” Kai taunted, and Rhys snickered.

“Well next time, you could try to throw more like a man and less like a…”

---